Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Where is
the campaign and help for the appeal of Swazi activist Zonke Dlamini, who was
tortured and sentenced to 15 years under repressive terror laws three years
ago, asks his co-accused, Bheki Dlamini, who was released without charge? Writes
Kenworthy
News Media.

Activist
Zonke Dlamini was sentenced to 15 years in prison three years ago, on 28
February 2014, for allegedly petrol bombing the houses of two Swazi
officials, an MP
and a high-ranking police officer.

He denies
the charges and says he was tortured during his interrogation, but his case has
been more or less forgotten and he has subsequently not been able to appeal his
sentence, says his co-accused, Swaziland Youth Congress President Bheki
Dlamini.

In the 28
July 2010 edition of the Swazi Observer,
Zonke Dlamini said he was interrogated and tortured by 18 officers upon arrest.
“I declared my innocence but was punched in the face … and told to admit my
role as one of the operatives of an operation mastermind by the banned SWAYOCO
to bomb houses of prominent people.”

Charged
under ‘inherently repressive’ terror act
Both Zonke Dlamini, who is also a member of SWAYOCO, and Bheki Dlamini, were
charged under Swaziland’s Suppression of Terrorism Act. Both dissociated
themselves from the petrol bombings.

Zonke was
found guilty on two of the three counts of petrol bombing while Bheki was
acquitted and released, in what the judge
referred to as “evil” and “indefensible acts” of “terrorism” that
“threatened national security” and “peace and stability” in Swaziland,
including “its tourism and economy generally.”

The
sentences “will send out a message to others,” the judge concluded.

Amnesty
International has called Swaziland’s Suppression of Terrorism Act, which
defines terrorism in sweeping terms, an “inherently repressive” act that is
“used to suppress dissent.”

Amnesty
furthermore wrote in their 2011 Annual Report that the court was informed that
Zonke and Bheki had been “subjected to suffocation torture” and that Zonke’s
confession (that led to the arrest of Bheki Dlamini) was allegedly “extracted
under duress.”

A humble
and dedicated man
According to Bheki Dlamini, Zonke Dlamini is a politically astute and humble
man who never complained about his fate and who is dedicated to the struggle
for freedom and democracy is Swaziland. He got to know Zonke when at court and
by them smuggling letters to each other’s cells.

When Zonke
Dlamini was arrested, he left a three-month-old baby and an extended family
that he was economically responsible for. He is also an epileptic who needs
constant supervision.

– My
heart is bleeding when I remember the pain of prison and what Zonke is still
going through. When Zonke was arrested, he was badly tortured by the Swazi
police. Now he suffers from a persistent headache because of the torture, says
Bheki Dlamini, who was himself tortured after his and Zonke Dlaminis arrest in
June 2010.

Both went
on a hunger strike in 2013 to protest against the prison conditions and the
fact that their case was yet to be concluded three years after they were
arrested.

Desperately
needs appeal, help
But while there was a campaign for the release of Bheki Dlamini, who was
eventually released, after having spent nearly four years in prison, and his
story was told in an award-winning Danish documentary, Swaziland – Africa’s last
monarchy, Zonke Dlaminis case does not get the attention it deserves,
Bheki Dlamini says.

– The
tragedy about Zonke’s case is that it doesn’t get the necessary attention, be
it amongst the Swazi Civil Society, the political parties and the Swazi media.
When the EU called for the release of political prisoners, Zonke’s name was
missing from the list of four political prisoners that were eventually
released, says Bheki Dlamini.

Bheki
Dlamini believes that while Zonke Dlamini faced injustice by the Swazi High
Court, few came to his rescue. This should have been the role of Swaziland’s
civil society and members of the international community, but their inaction
has had serious consequences for Zonke, he says.

– As
Zonke was convicted in 2014, he was not able to file an appeal because he has
no lawyer to take up his case. Where are the NGO’s claiming to be fighting for
human rights, where are Lawyers for Human Rights, where is our conscience as a
people when we watch such gross injustice happening to someone who is trying to
fight the very same regime we claim to be against?

– He
desperately needs to appeal his conviction and sentencing. I have been part of
the trial and know that he has a high chance of an acquittal because he was
sentenced unfairly. There is no direct evidence linking him to the crimes he is
accused of. He was made a sacrificial lamb by the judge, who decided to acquit
me and convict Zonke to appease the powers that be, Bheki Dlamini says.

Private as well as public
schools in Swaziland are to be forced to conduct lessons in siSwati, the mother
tongue of Swazi people, and applicants to universities and tertiary colleges
will be made to take an application test in the language.

The unexpected announcement
is already causing confusing in education circles in the kingdom ruled by King
Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

The Times of
Swaziland reported that
Dlamini told a gathering to mark International Mother Language Day on Wednesday
(22 February 2017), ‘In all public and private primary schools in Swaziland, up
to and including Grade IV, a child’s education will be conducted in siSwati.

‘In the later grades of
primary education, and in all high schools, siSwati will be one of the
compulsory subjects in the curriculum. And before admission to tertiary
education, all applicants will be required to take a competency test in
siSwati.’

Later, Phineas Magagula,
the Swaziland Minister of Education and Training, clarified the PM’s statement. Magagula said Swaziland was not doing away with
other languages in schools but siSwati would be a core subject.

Later, in a further clarification, the Prime Minister said the new policy would not
be implemented overnight. The Ministry of Education would appoint a ‘siSwati
Board’ to oversee it, he said.

There is still no
clarification about the role of siSwati in colleges and universities. If the
language is compulsory it would almost certainly made it impossible for
students from outside Swaziland to enrol for programmes.

Monday, 27 February 2017

King Mswati III, the autocratic ruler of Swaziland,
appointed seven judges to the Supreme Court in contravention of the kingdom’s
Constitution, Amnesty
International has reported.

As a result, the Law Society of Swaziland boycotted
the November Supreme Court session and demanded the appointment of permanent
judges in line with Section 153 of the Constitution, which stipulates that
judges be appointed in an open, transparent and competitive process.

Amnesty said in its just published annual
report on human rights in the kingdom that in other legal developments, the
High Court ruled that sections of the 1938 Sedition and Subversive Activities
Act (SSA) and the 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) were invalid as they
infringed on constitutionally protected rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly. The judgment came after provisions in the laws were
challenged in the applications filed in 2009 by human rights lawyer Thulani
Maseko. Thulani Maseko was charged under the SSA in 2009.

Another application was filed in 2014 by Mario Masuku
and Maxwell Dlamini, leaders of the banned opposition People’s United
Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), who were charged under both Acts in 2014; and by
Mlungisi Makhanya and seven others, who were also charged under the Acts in
2014.

Amnesty also reported that a Public Order Bill, going
through Parliament, if passed, would undermine rights to freedom of peaceful
assembly and of association.

‘Among other things, it would criminalize the act of
organizing a public gathering without prior notification to the authorities.
The bill, which was expected to be passed by the kingdom’s unelected Senate,
before being ratified by the King, remained in draft form at the end of the
year,’ it stated.

Friday, 24 February 2017

The Administration at the
University of Swaziland (UNISWA) is under attack on two fronts: from the
students and non-academic staff.

On Monday (20 February
2017) UNISWA closed indefinitely
after students boycotted classes in protest over late payment of scholarships
and inadequate facilities.

The following day
non-academic staff picketed the Kwaluseni Campus administration block in a row over
‘stop orders’ from salaries. Money has been stopped from pay cheques but it has
not been forwarded to the relevant beneficiaries. Staff said this had been
going on for at least two years.

A spokesperson for the
workers was reported by the Swazi
Observer saying, ‘This is a problem that the members of staff have had to
endure for two years and each time we raised the issue with management, they
promised to work on it.’

The Times of Swaziland
reported that 100 members of the National Workers Union of Swaziland Higher
Institutions (NAWUSHI) took part in the picket. It quoted the workers’ spokesperson
saying, ‘Currently, the institution deducts the money from us, but it does not
remit it to the service providers and we consider this as an illegal and
fraudulent act, which should be corrected immediately.’

The spokesperson added
management had refused to meet to discuss the issue.

Thursday, 23 February 2017

Swaziland’s main opposition
political party PUDEMO has refuted media reports that it is ready to contest the national elections
in 2018.

PUDEMO (the People’s United
Democratic Movement) is the best-known opposition group in the kingdom where
King Mswati III rules as an absolute monarch. Political parties are not allowed
to contest elections and PUDEMO, along with other groups that advocate for
democracy in the kingdom, are banned under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

The Times of
Swaziland, the only
independent daily newspaper in the kingdom reported on Monday (20 February
2017) that PUDEMO and its youth wing SWAYOCO, ‘have been instructed by their
donors to look into changing their strategy for bringing democracy into the
country’.

The Times added, ‘After years of denouncing the country’s elections and
branding them “not free or fair”, the proscribed entities are considering
taking part in the 2018 national elections where Members of Parliament
representing the 55 constituencies in the country are chosen by the people.’

PUDEMO responded in a stinging statement and rejected, ‘with the contempt they deserve’ the
media reports. It said it had no donors or funders who were forcing it to
participate in the elections.

It added, ‘PUDEMO is not
afraid of elections, and remains committed to taking part in Swaziland National
Elections, that will be conducted under conditions that guarantee a democratic,
free, fair, meaningful and transparent process, not the current royal sham.’

The Swazi people have no
say in who their leaders are. They are only allowed to select 55 of the 65
members of the House of Assembly, the other 10 are appointed by the King. None
of the 30 members of the Swaziland Senate are elected by the people; the King
appoints 20 members and the other 10 are appointed by the House of Assembly.

The King choses the Prime
Minister and cabinet members. Only a man with the surname Dlamini
can, by tradition, be appointed as Prime Minister. The
King is a Dlamini.

He also choses senior civil
servants and top judges.

PUDEMO added, ‘The current
Tinkhundla elections has no effect in the political life of the country, as
power remains concentrated in royal hands, and all meaningful decisions are
made through royal command. PUDEMO has no intention, now or in the future to
associate its glorious name and record of struggle with such a royal grand scam
to defraud our people of their right to democratically and freely elect a government
of their own.’

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

Swaziland’s Minister of
Labour and Social Security has made a veiled threat to scrap university
scholarships in the kingdom if students continue to protest against late
payments.

Minister of Labour and
Social Security Winnie Magagula made her comments after management at the
University of Swaziland (UNISWA) closed the institution after students
boycotted classes.

There have been continuing
problems at UNISWA – and other tertiary colleges in Swaziland – about late
payments of scholarships and allowances. There are also complaints that
facilities in universities and colleges are inadequate.

UNISWA closed on Monday (20
February 2017). UNISWA Registrar Dr Salebona Simelane told local media the
University Senate had resolved to close down immediately as a precautionary
measure following vandalism to property the previous week.

The Swazi Observer reported on Tuesday he said, ‘they needed to protect
university property and the students themselves from each other’.

The Observer reported Minister Magagula saying the government might
have to reconsider issuing scholarships, ‘as they were causing too many
problems’.

Following the closure of
UNISWA, Magagula said the incident was an unfortunate one as they had met the
SRC where they explained the procedures followed when government pays a
client.

The Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, who rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reported her saying, ‘We
met with these children and we showed them that we had indeed paid their
allowances as these things take time. There are processes that take place.’

The Observer added, ‘Magagula said the students were clearly refusing
to cooperate with government and the university hence if there are no
scholarships maybe there’ll be no closure for these institutions.’

UNISWA is not the only
tertiary education institution complaining against late payments. The Southern
African Nazarene University (SANU) in Manzini, Swaziland, has also
been closed following student
protests against poor facilities and insufficient allowances.

Two police officers in Swaziland have appeared in
court charged with demanding money from suspects in return for their freedom.

They appeared at the Manzini Magistrates Court on 14
February 2017 charged with, among other crimes, extorting money from civilians
by threatening to arrest them and have their names published in newspapers.

The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘The “suspects”
were warned that this would embarrass them and no matter what the outcome of
the cases would be, they would already have been publicly shamed.’

The
accused police officers are alleged to have taken more than E100,000 (US$7,630)
from people who feared arrest. The case continues.

Tuesday, 21 February 2017

Despite a
campaign at the European Parliament to force Swaziland to improve its human
rights record, the European Union (EU) has continued to spend tens ofmillions of euros of taxpayers’
money in the kingdom ruled by the autocratic King Mswati III.

Figures
just released show the EU disbursed E365 million last year (26 million euro;
US$22 million.

Bertram
Stewart, Swazi Ministry of Economic Planning and Development Principal
Secretary, said, ‘I wish to express our sincere gratitude to the EU for the
financial and moral support they provided to the country,’

He was
speaking at the annual Swazi Government and EU project planning meeting to
review the progress of EU-funded projects.

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect
owned by King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last
absolute monarch, reported, ‘EU Ambassador Nicola Bellomo said they were really
proud of the achievements and were looking at increasing and improving their
level of cooperation in partnership with all the relevant stakeholders.’

There has
been growing concerns in Europe about Swaziland’s record on human rights, where
any political dissent can be outlawed by the Suppression of Terrorism Act. In recent years, journalists
have been jailed for criticising the kingdom’s judges.

In October 2016, more than four
in ten Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) did not support Swaziland’s
inclusion in a trade partnership deal.

Ambassador Bellomo said at
the time, many MEPs wanted Swaziland excluded because of human rights
violations.

In a vote, 417 MEPs
endorsed Swaziland’s inclusion in the Southern African Development Community
(SADC)-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.However, 216 MEPs voted against and a
further 118 abstained from voting.

Bellomo told the Sunday Observer on 9 October 2016 that those who wanted the
kingdom to be excluded cited human rights violations. He gave the
jailing of the Nation magazine editor Bheki Makhubu and
human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko on sedition charges as examples.

The Observer reported the EU ambassador said this should be ‘a wake-up
call’ to Swaziland.

The new trade agreement
opened SADC goods to the European markets duty free.

In May 2015, the European Parliament voted
for the release of all political prisoners in Swaziland and called for the
kingdom to be monitored for its human rights record.

A statement
issued by the European Parliament said, ‘Parliament
considers the imprisonment of political activists and the banning of trade
unions to be in clear contravention of commitments made by Swaziland under the
Cotonou Agreement to respect democracy, the rule of law and human rights, and
also under the sustainable development chapter of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement, for which
Parliament’s support will depend on respect for the commitments made.’

The resolution was passed by
579 votes to six, with 58 abstentions.

In January 2015, the United States withdrew
Swaziland’s trading benefits under the Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA)
after the kingdom refused to accept democratic change.

Monday, 20 February 2017

A command made by Swaziland’s autocratic King Mswati
III that schools must not charge parents top-up fees is about to be overturned
following years of confusion.

And, Swazi Government ministers and the media in the kingdom
are rewriting history to erase the King’s part in the chaos.

In February 2014, in a speech opening Parliament King
Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, made
the directive to abolish top-up fees even though the government he
hand-picked did not have a plan to implement it.

In Swaziland, the King’s word is a proclamation. Once
he speaks nobody is allowed to question him.

In his 2014
speech the King said,‘We must encourage the
development of local facilities and the improvement of the quality of our
education to match the standards of foreign countries. It is not enough,
however, to just educate our children to become job seekers.’

Top-up fees allowed principals to charge parents more
than the basic school fee. This allowed schools to be able to fund many basic
activities. Principals
complained that the money paid by government was too meagre to run the schools and
a majority of them opted for top-up fees to make up for the shortage.

Within months reports were circulating in the kingdom that
most schools had been forced to suspend activities including participation in
sports and music competitions. It was estimated these extra-mural activities
had halved when compared to recent years.

The Swazi
Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported
in 2015 that some principals had resorted to selling sweets on behalf of their
schools to raise additional funds.

It reported, ‘Swaziland Principals Association (SWAPA)
President Mduduzi Bhembe confirmed the sad situation and lamented the fact that
the growth of the country’s education system was taking a nosedive.’

In February 2016, school principals who defied the ban
were warned they could
go to jail.The Swazi Education and Training
Minister Phineas Magagula said this after the Kingdom’s High Court confirmed
the King’s edict that no school should charge parents top-up fees.

The
Swazi Observer reported at the time that Magagula
said by charging top-up fees the principals were, ‘failing to comply with His
Majesty King Mswati III’s order that such should not be paid and that no child
should be deprived of education’.

Now, media in Swaziland are reporting that the Swazi
Cabinet has decided to put forward a law to allow to-up fees to be charged.

The Times of Swaziland, the only
independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported on Friday (17 February
2017), ‘Stakeholders are searching for answers to the question of how to charge
top-up fees yet they (top-up fees) are legal in terms of Section 12 of the Free
Primary Education Act of 2010.’

It added, ‘Phineas Magagula, the Minister of Education and Training, had
submitted a proposal to cabinet to reintroduce the additional fees which
schools charged over and above government grants.’

The King’s role in the top-up fee saga is being ignored. On 29 December
2016, the Swazi Observer, a newspaper
described by the Media Institute of Southern Africa in a report on press
freedom in Swaziland as a
‘pure propaganda machine for the royal family’,
reported Magagula had submitted a proposal to cabinet to reintroduce the top-up
fees.

It reported, ‘Education Minister Dr. Phineas Magagula yesterday said the
decision to enforce a no top-up fee policy was not taken by an individual line
minister, in this particular case being himself, but was a collective cabinet
decision.

‘Any changes with regard to the implementation of the policy, Dr.
Magagula said, would as such have to be taken by cabinet.’

Friday, 17 February 2017

For the
second time in a week police in Swaziland fired warning gunshots at civilians
during a street protest.

Kombi
drivers and conductors brought traffic to a standstill at Mvutshini on Tuesday
(14 February 2017) by blocking the highway and stopping public transport. They
were protesting about an alleged corrupt traffic police office.

The Swazi Observer reported on Wednesday (15
February 2017) three gun shots were fired in the air by the police ‘after the
conductors attacked a bus fully loaded with passengers on its way to Mbabane,
from Manzini’.

It quoted
one conductor saying, ‘We had to run for our lives, as we didn’t expect shots
to be fired. We thought we were calm and are lucky to have not been shot,’

This was the second time in a week that police fired shots during
civilian protests. On Sunday police
fired warning gunshots as students protested about late payment of their
allowances.